Italian Phrase: Ti auguro ogni bene. (I wish you well.)

If you want to express a desire for someone’s well-being in Italian, you can use the phrase Ti auguro ogni bene which means I wish you well or I wish you the best. Let’s break this phrase down into bitesized chunks! ti An indirect object pronoun in Italian that can translate as either you or …

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Italian Word of the Day: Sottobicchiere (coaster / mat)

The word for a mat or coaster that you put under cups, mugs, bottles and glasses to avoid staining or wetting a surface is sottobicchiere (masculine, plural: sottobicchieri) in Italian. It is the combination of two words: sotto meaning under or underneath and bicchiere meaning drinking glass. Sottobicchieri can be made of various materials, including: …

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Italian Word of the Day: Stonato (out of tune / tone-deaf)

The adjective stonato comes from the verb stonare which means to sing / play out of tune. The feminine equivalent is stonata and their respective plurals are stonati and stonate. Stonato can be used to describe a naturally tone-deaf person, a professional singer whose voice is off-key or flat for some reason, or a musical …

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Italian Phrase: Ti piace? (Do you like it?)

If you buy someone a gift or cook them a meal, you might want to ask the question Ti piace? (Do you like it?) to find out if your thoughtful gesture was appreciated. The phrase is made up of the second person indirect pronoun ti (you or to you) and the verb piacere (to like) …

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Italian Word of the Day: Uffa! (What a drag!)

Uffa is an onomatopoeic interjection in Italian that is supposed to resemble the sound of a person sighing, grumbling or huffing and puffing (sbuffare) with annoyance. People use it when they are irritated by something and want to get their frustration off their chest by letting out a breathy verbalisation. Learn with our video Some …

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Italian Word of the Day: Passeggiata (walk / stroll)

Today we’re going to be looking at the Italian word passeggiata (feminine, plural: passeggiate) which means walk or stroll when the person in question travels on foot, or ride when they go by a means of transport such as a bus, car or horse. Learn with our video Passeggiata derives from the verb passeggiare which …

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